


Faith Amongst the Faithful

by caras_galadhon (Galadriel)



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Beginnings, Community: lotr_sesa, Declarations Of Love, Elves, Endings, Introspection, Jealousy, M/M, Post-Canon, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-24
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-12-22 22:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/918576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galadriel/pseuds/caras_galadhon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Dol Amroth, as the Age of the Elves comes to a close, Haldir meets an old friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faith Amongst the Faithful

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://eidolon-writes.livejournal.com/profile)[**eidolon_writes**](http://eidolon-writes.livejournal.com/) for [](http://lotr-sesa.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://lotr-sesa.livejournal.com/)**lotr_sesa**. She asked for, among other things, "two characters with a long history and a whole lot of unresolved sexual tension." Here's hoping what I've offered up is at least a tiny taste of what she was hoping for. Happy Holidays!

"Haldir."

"My lord." Haldir inclined his head, eyes flicking upwards to keep his gaze on Imrahil, only a short space away, reviewing his guard in the morning sun. Each Man's armour gleamed silver, glittering as the sun's rays played across his shoulders, one in a dazzling string of Dol Amroth's brightest jewels.

Glorfindel's low chuckle sent a shiver up Haldir's spine. "How many times have I asked you to do away with such formalities? Do we not know each other well enough, after all these Ages?"

Haldir shifted slightly to the side on the half-wall on which he was perched, a silent invitation that was easily accepted. "I suppose we do, my lord _Glorfindel_." He smiled at the sudden warmth of Glorfindel's nearness, their bodies not touching, but barely a sliver of daylight between them both. As he'd done so many times before, Haldir delayed the moment of sight, preferring instead to let anticipation rule, biding his time before he beheld Glorfindel in all his golden glory. He had received word of Glorfindel's retinue arriving the evening before, a courtesy extended to the great cities of Gondor now that Sauron had met defeat. As the houses of Men rose at the beginning of this new Age, so did the greatest of the Elves withdraw, a few travelling companies the last remnants of the Age that had been.

Silence settled between the two Elves, the only sounds the early chirping of birds and Imrahil's clear voice ringing out across the courtyard as he ran his soldiers through their paces. Although Haldir could feel the prickle of Glorfindel's gaze as it assessed him from crown to toe, still he kept his face turned, watching the Men march.

Haldir found himself content to remain this way, secure in their silence, comfortable under Glorfindel's gaze, but after a little while, the other Elf cleared his throat, seemingly tiring of such quiet idleness. "How is your lady?" he murmured, his leg briefly brushing against Haldir's own, "and her lord?"

Haldir wet his lips, shaking his head. "She has left Lorien and journeyed to the West with Mithrandir and the little hobbit. The Golden Wood is not as it once was without her as its heart." His brow furrowed in thought. "But surely you know this?" He turned his head, blinking into the sun, only to have his breath catch in his throat. Glorfindel was as beautiful as ever, shining like a star risen in daylight, unable to be contained by the night. He bit his lip, struggling to recall the thread of conversation. "Your lord left with them. The Last Homely House must stand now without the protection of Elrond Half-Elven."

Glorfindel smiled, and Haldir felt as if phantom wings had taken flight in his breast. "Of course." He tipped his head to the side, scrutinizing Haldir's expression. "Yet it is only a fitting reward for someone so long away, is it not?"

"It is." Haldir nodded, sighing softly, "and when my lord Celeborn sees fit to join her, I will go too." He looked back at Imrahil, searching for the strength and beauty of Men in fine form, and seeing instead the frailty of such fleeting mortal lives. "The world has changed, Glorfindel. I am not so sure of my place in it any longer. I wish--" He pressed his lips together, trapping the thought before it slipped out into the air.

"You wish...?" There it was again, that gentle brush, the briefest of contacts, this time Glorfindel's hand softly stroking along Haldir's own before fading away.

Haldir hesitated, the words sticking in his throat. "I sometimes wish I had followed a bolder path. Seized what I wanted rather than letting it glide past. Like they do." He nodded at Imrahil, in the process of dismissing his guards and turning his attention to a small delegation waiting just out of the way, in the shadow of the fortress walls.

"Is that why you came here? Hoping to find new purpose amongst the Swan-Sailors? They may speak our language, but even the Faithful are as fireflies to our kenning."

"I know." The weight of an Age lay heavily across Haldir's shoulders. "Yet I find no purpose in a land where my kin are leaving, when my heart remains here." He looked up at Glorfindel, surprised to see a frown marring his expression. "I do not yet feel the pull of the sea, nor the drive to wander West. I need some purpose, _someone_ to pledge myself to until my lord sends forth the call that will bring us all home."

Glorfindel's brow drew closer together, his expression becoming stormier as he glanced towards Imrahil. "You would couple yourself to a mortal?" There was no mistaking the disapproval in his voice. "You would dally in the shadow of Eru's youngest?" He narrowed his eyes, and Haldir could hear his words slowly turning to ice. "Perhaps it is a grey-eyed, dark-haired man that draws such longings?" He nodded at Imrahil. "I will grant you, he is handsome, but he does not suit you. He is not your equal, and certainly not your better. You must know this."

Haldir could feel his eyebrows rising; he had never heard Glorfindel speak so disrespectfully about any Man, and certainly not about one so very worthy. Flustered by this strange outburst, he murmured, "I am not sure what you mean. I merely believe I might find some purpose here, some way to help these Men rebuild a little of what they've lost before y-- before _I_ sail across the sea."

Something in Glorfindel's expression changed then, yet Haldir was unable to put his finger on precisely what. His face had softened somewhat, the coolness giving way, smoothing out angles sharpened by his frown. He had never seen the Elf surprised, and yet that was what he saw in his features now. Glorfindel was silent for a long moment, studying Haldir with an intensity that made Haldir's cheeks burn. "There is something holding you here, Haldir, my friend? Something beyond Celeborn's presence that keeps you in this world of Men?"

Haldir could feel his mouth go dry. He nodded silently, his heart picking up speed.

"Something, or perhaps someone? Someone who has not yet taken the road to the West?" Glorfindel smiled softly, his eyes lighting up as knowledge began to dawn. "Someone who continues to wander, caught in his own meandering path, for reasons not entirely clear to anyone, least of all himself?"

Haldir's eyes widened. He had lost count of the many years he had known Glorfindel, the times they had stood next to each other in battle, sat side-by-side to sup, to celebrate, to share a little sip of companionship. He could not track the immensity of grief at Glorfindel's loss in Gondolin, nor his joy on his resurrection and return. Yet something had always held him back from pledging himself to Glorfindel directly: perhaps it was the newness of their acquaintance so very long ago, or the awe-inspiring vastness of Glorfindel's gifts once he returned. Perhaps it was their very different lives, their separate mistresses and masters, or perhaps it was the mere fact that words left unspoken began to stale and stagnate. Perhaps the reasons why didn't matter at all, not in the face of the moment they had in front of them right now, the product of thousands of years to be ignored or accepted for what it was. His throat closing, it was all he could do to nod.

"Perhaps it is time to seize what you want, hmm, Haldir? Perhaps it is long past time for both of us to do so." Glorfindel's fingers curled around the back of Haldir's hand, warm and reassuring, coaxing his palm upwards until they were clasping hands.

Haldir cleared his throat, the phantom grip of bottled emotions loosening enough to free his tongue. "Perhaps it is, my lord." He smiled as he spoke, squeezing Glorfindel's fingers gently, luxuriating in the slow kindling of heat between their palms, "Perhaps it is."


End file.
